Note From the Editor by Raechel Logan

It’s that time of year again – the Holiday Season. The Holidays always seem to bring with them an increased feeling of generosity and good will, but they also mark the quickly approaching end-of-the-year deadlines and, unfortunately for some, an increased feeling of stress and anxiety in the work place as they rush to get everything done on time — at work and at home.

Ronald Reagan once said, “They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.” Sometimes it really does seem like the work on our to-do lists involves too much process or is too large to tackle without being broken down into smaller, simpler tasks. Usually, we can help ourselves breathe a little when we remember to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid). This newsletter has ideas and thoughts about simplifying our work and projects so we can work more efficiently and avoid burnout in the midst of the seeming chaos.

As Steve Jobs put it, “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean and to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

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Today at 1p.m. EST. World Congress, Cambridge, MA

December 5-6, 2011

The high cost of health care is on everyone’s mind. Health care companies are looking for ways to improve processes and be more efficient. That includes IT and how projects are managed. The search for a better way to get work done requires that we stand back and take an objective look at the project management process with fresh eyes. Thomas Kuhn coined the phrase “paradigm shift” in 1962—which suggests that sometimes it’s possible to see the same information in an entirely different way.

To help you understand the paradigm shift, AtTask and Cleveland Clinic would like to invite you to attend the World Congress 3rd Annual Leadership Summit on Project Management in Health Care taking place December 5-6, 2011 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While at the Summit, be sure to attend the Monday keynote luncheon to take a closer look at this paradigm shift that is changing the way project leaders like you manage projects and lead people.

Special Discount

As a special guest of AtTask, we would like to offer you an exclusive registration offer of just $395, which is savings of $1,700 off the standard rate! To take advantage of this special offer, please call 800.767.9499 and mention promotional code PMPROMO. For more information about the Summit, visit:

Blog Posts

It’s the boring stuff that matters. I think this applies to how we manage projects. However, maybe not in the way most people think about the details of managing projects. Although the mechanics of building a work breakdown structure or milestone path are important, there are four small (maybe even insignificant things) that need to take place for members of any project team to perform at the highest level…

I am always fascinated by the way many corporate cultures can thrive on turning everyday work into the most complex, convoluted, costly and time consuming way to get anything done in their organizations. It’s like taking something as simple as getting dressed in the morning, where you just pick out a shirt and pants or dress and shoes and you’re good to go; and turn it into a complex process by which you must…

It doesn’t matter how easy or complicated the game may be, they all have one thing in common—a set of rules. The rules make it possible to measure progress, keep score and ultimately determine the winner. Have you ever wondered what would happen if in the middle of the game you suspended or changed the rules? Nobody would want to play. How many times does that happen at work?

Have you ever wondered if the process we use to manage projects and lead teams ever gets in the way? I’m not suggesting that project management best practices are bad (in fact I’m a big fan of capturing best practices and leveraging them to make future projects more successful), but I have to admit that sometimes it feels like they get in the way. Not unlike a DTR can get in the way of a relationship…